Primed casing mass storage?

[Psypher]

Wasn't sure where to put this thread, so here goes.

I am considering pre-loading a 5-gallon bucket of casings with primers and sealing it up. I've seen nitrogen used to push the air out of Mylar bags of rice stored in 5-gallon buckets and then sealed up.

Can such a mass feat be done without risking the primers going bad?
With them stored that way, is there an increased risk of a primer discharge in the bucket? (common says yes on this one)
Are there products I could use to help ensure moisture stays out? (decissant packs, etc.)
Has anyone done something like this?

[Iron Whittler]

I do not recommend it for several reasons. Primers are best stored in their original packages in a cool, dry, dark place away from powder or other flammable items. Once you prime cases, those primers are committed for those cases, therefore making them unusable for other cases. As for storing in a bucket, I cannot say as I have not tried it. Just something for you to think about.

[WallyM3]

Iron Whittler's advise is very sound and you can't go wrong following it.

I don't want to imply that I disagree, but just want to relate an experience or two. In the past two months, I have decapped about 300 live primers and will be doing another 100 tonight. I've not yet had one fail to ignite when used in reloads in the past, but wouldn't use them for matches or defense.

Naturally, the operation is done delicately.

A cardboard box full of old primers sat in my detached garage through 8 Vermont seasons and considerable damp to wet floor environment. A friend is now using them for "plinking" type shooting.

If you're "prepping", it's certainly better to treat your primers with care, but factories prime empty cases and offer them for sale with the expectation that many will be on the shelves for years.

Modern primers are truly remarkable things.

[beroen]

Just curious but why not just fully reload the cases then store?

It seems to defeat the purpose because you still need to have the rest stored somewhere.

[rondog]

I like to prep and pre-prime too. I have some cabinets that I bought from a guy, they're those hardware cabinets used at Home Depot for specialty hardware. Anyway, I just keep them stored in drawers, ready to go. This is some of them.

[LUBEDUDE]

Just curious but why not just fully reload the cases then store?

Powder is still hard to find for some of us.

At at least the powder we want.

[rondog]

With my brass already prepped and ready to load, I can then fill them up whenever I feel in the mood to load something, and I can use whatever powder and bullet I want. If I load them all at once, then I have a whole bunch of the same thing on the shelf and no brass to try other loads/bullets with.

Besides, I already have so much ammo loaded and stored that I'll never be able to shoot it all up in my lifetime! Not by myself anyway. But I'm going out in the morning and gonna give it a helluva try.....

[376Steyr]

I like to use pre-primed cases with my Dillon 550, as I think this cuts back on the chance of something going wrong during the loading sequence. I store lots of primed pistol brass in regular gallon zip-lock freezer bags, which hold 300-500 pieces. I haven't had any problems, but then I also live in an arid environment.

[merlin101]

I've pre-primed cases years ago and never had a problem with them. I still have a few hundred .357 cases primed and sitting in a plastic tote. I've never worried about moisture because the primer mixture itself starts as a wet paste and is then dried also primers aren't packed in air tight water proof packaging. I do keep them cool and away from powder.

[WallyM3]

The mixture is also covered with a paper seal.

[TNsailorman]

I have in the past and still use 50 cal. sealed army ammo cans to store primers and primed brass. I do not put desicant bags into them nor do I try to put nitrogen in them. I do store them in a cool, dry basement that has a de-hummidifier in it. Never had a primer go bad yet and I have been storing them this way for over 40 years. my experience anyway, james

[Garyshome]

Why would you do that? I use a Dillon and prime before I re load. Why not just load em then store em?

[mdi]

I don't think there would be a problem with long term primed brass storage. I too like to have a bunch of cases primed and ready to be completed, and I've forgotten some for long periods of time (I haven't reloaded any .357 Mag. since I moved to Oregon 5 years ago but discovered 100 primed and ready cases just last week). I will reload them as usual and be confident they will all go bang. As for primers being struck hard enough to ignite while stored in primed cases, I really doubt that happening. I remember seeing many, many ammo cans of loose 45 ACP at some competitions, none ever popped, and I've purchased 400 rounds, loose packed in ammo cans, shipped from CMP with no problems...

[Eddie2002]

I've used primers that have sat around in the original packs for 25 years with no problems. They were stored in a regular old paper box on a shelf in my shop with no AC or heat. Can't see how there wold be any problem bulk storing primed brass, maybe break them down to 100 cases per ziplock bag. I prime up a couple hundred rifle or pistol brass at a time and store them in zip lock bags until needed.
I would be more concerned about having the neck or mouth of a case getting dinged up and needing to be run back through a die. Resizing primed brass can be done but will keep you on your toes.

[EDG]

I used to prep and store cases like that when primers were $.79 a hundred.
When the shortages hit I had to go back and mine my prepped brass for primers when I needed them for some other round.

Now I clean size and store without the primers. I can seat 100s of primers in a hour so there is little delay and I do not have a lot of money tied up in primer inventory.

Loading the cases is a bad idea unless you know you will shoot them soon. Otherwise you have the total cost of ammo tied up in inventory that you might not shoot for 20 years.

[ReloaderFred]

Since we've been able to buy primed cases from the factories for years, and have been loading them for years, there's no problem pre-priming cases for later use. I primed 1,600 .38 cases just last night, and have a couple thousand .45 acp cases primed and ready to load, plus another couple thousand 9x19 brass primed. Oh, and there's another 500 .44 Special and about a thousand 10mm all primed and ready for final assembly.

I just put the primer box covers in with the primed brass so I'll know which primers and lot numbers the brass is primed with. No special packaging is required, since primers in their original packaging don't require any special treatment, other than trying to keep them cool and dry, which isn't always possible.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[jmorris]

I agree with post #2